List of 26 best universities in South Africa

Updated:

EduRank

Top 26 universities in South Africa ranked by EduRank based on research outputs, non-academic prominence, and alumni influence. The rankings are determined by analyzing 14.6M citations received by 692K academic publications made by 26 universities from South Africa, the popularity of 911 recognized alumni, and the largest reference database available.

9. University of the Free State

#18 in Africa
#1063 in the World
Acceptance Rate
25%
Enrollment
37,000
Founded
1904

10. University of the Western Cape

#19 in Africa
#1096 in the World
Acceptance Rate
60%
Enrollment
24,754
Founded
1959

11. Rhodes University

#20 in Africa
#1104 in the World
Enrollment
8,200
Founded
1904

15. Cape Peninsula University of Technology

#52 in Africa
#2299 in the World
Acceptance Rate
91%
Enrollment
35,047
Founded
2005

16. University of Limpopo

#62 in Africa
#2621 in the World
Acceptance Rate
45%
Founded
1959

25. University of Mpumalanga

#350 in Africa
#7419 in the World
Enrollment
2,500
Founded
2014

26. Sol Plaatje University

#428 in Africa
#9200 in the World
Acceptance Rate
80%
Enrollment
3,000
Founded
2013

The best cities to study in South Africa based on the number of universities and their ranks are Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Stellenbosch.

Average cost of living for students in South Africa is $535 + $79-568 for rent (depends on where to live: dormitory, renting with a roommate or solo).